Firms search for greener supplies of graphite for EV batteries

Despite probableNEFEV bumps in the road ahead, caused by faltering economies and , more than 13m plug-in fully electric or hybrid passenger cars are likely to be sold this year, according to Bloomberg. This will take the on the world’s roads from 27m to more than 40m. But that is still only around 3% of the planet’s vehicle fleet. With another 97% to go, mass electrification of transport means there will be a huge demand for batteries and the materials they are made from.Carmakers already fret about spiralling prices and limited supplies of lithium, the crucial ingredient of the lithium-ion batteries at the heart of this revolution. They also worry about cobalt and other ingredients used to make cathodes, the positive electrodes inside those batteries (though recent discoveries of new reserves have as they relate to cobalt in particular). It does, though, take two to tango. For every cathode, a battery needs an anode, a negative electrode. Anodes are made from graphite, and a supply-shock for that material is brewing.